The Director of The West Africa Centre for Crop Improvement (WACCI) and 2022 Africa Food Prize laureate, Prof. Eric Danquah has paid a courtesy call on the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ghana. The purpose of the visit was to officially present the coveted award to the Vice-Chancellor Professor Nana Aba Appiah-Amfo and senior management of the university.
Addressing the gathering, the Vice-Chancellor congratulated Prof. Danquah for the award which according to her has lifted the image of the university and the country. She recounted reviewing the list of past winners of the award and noticing that there had been no winners from Ghana. She was pleased that the award is an African award delivered to an African in Africa, and Prof. Danquah brought it home to Ghana. She also commended the WACCI team for their teamwork and exceptional dedication to their Centre, adding that their camaraderie and hard work is evident in the success of the Centre. She called on the young faculty to learn from the successes of visionary leaders like Prof. Eric Danquah and commit to a career of dedication and impact. Finally, she reaffirmed her commitment to supporting WACCI achieve greater heights.
Prof. Eric Danquah in presenting the award to the Vice Chancellor thanked her for the support that she gave the Centre by accepting the invitation to join the WACCI delegation to the high-level announcement and gala dinner events. He recounted how honored he was to receive a call from H.E Olusegun Obasanjo informing him of his nomination for the award, and the joy of sharing a stage again with him and the president of Rwanda, Paul Kagame among other dignitaries, to receive the award. In his final remarks, he highlighted the potential of WACCI and other Centres of Excellence to attract and retain more talent if they had the autonomy to do so.
In response to Prof. Danquah’s final remarks, the Registrar, Mrs. Emelia N.K. Agyei-Mensah acknowledged the benefits of the university having a say in staffing decisions especially in retaining talent past their retirement ages, assuring all present that she will endeavor to provide the necessary support within her power to facilitate such processes.
In attendance were the Pro-Vice-Chancellor Research, Innovation and Development, Prof. Felix Asante, the Pro-Vice-Chancellor, Academic and Student Affairs, Prof. Gordon Awandare, the Registrar, Mrs. Emelia N.K. Agyei-Mensah, a delegation from the College of Basic and Applied sciences led by the Provost Professor Boateng Onwona-Agyeman, and some faculty and staff from WACCI.
